American Girl Retiring 2 of Its 4 Dolls of Color

By
Anna Breslaw

May 22, 2014

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American Girl has announced on Facebook they will be retiring four dolls from their historical collection, two of which are Ivy (the only Asian-American historical doll) and Cécile (one of only two black historical dolls, and the only one that does not have a slavery backstory). Ivy and Cécile are two of only four American Girl dolls of color.

Some dolls are retired due to low sales or low stock. Others dolls have been retired soon before or after a doll of a similar nature is released. All dolls that had thick bangs have generally been modified to have a thinner bang style. It is suspected the grey eyed dolls were retired or remodeled due to an inclination towards silver eye. When all dolls could get pierced ears, the original version of Just Like You 27 was retired with the fixed earrings.

As for the "dolls of a similar nature" point, there are no less than four blonde dolls. The only other dolls of color are Addy and Kaya, so the rest are white, which is certainly a similarity. For women like me who grew up in the '90s, these dolls gave us some of our earliest racial awareness. It's a shame that girls today will miss out.